New Vintaj Patina Ink Kits

I've always been more of a "natural" girl when it comes to my metal beads, particularly the gorgeous African brass beads that I've discovered in my favorite bead shops the last few years. But the other day as I was shopping online at Lima Beads, I noticed that they have a new line of Vintaj Patinas from Ranger Inks, designed specifically for painting metal beads and jewelry making components.

Vintaj Patina inks turned African brass beads from these…

…into these!

Painting has never been my strong suit when it comes to art, but the colors of these new Vintaj Patinas were just irresistible! I loved the idea of being able to add a splash of color to my beading projects using the African brass metal beads, so I bought two of the kits, Weathered Copper and Antique Window, to go with my brass beads.

I started with the Antique Window colors on some metal rope-textured beads. Thinking that I was going to stick to my plan for using more purple beads in my beading projects, I applied a base coat of the light lavender paint — and then remembered that when painting in layers, you should always add the darkest shade first! Oops. Not one to worry, I just added another light layer of purple after I dabbed some of the dark blue paint on the metal beads.

I wore gloves and used a paintbrush to avoid smudging the paint as I applied each layer to the brass bead.

Remember when adding layers of paint that the darker colors should be applied first.

Success! I scrubbed this little beauty with the reliefing block to expose a little bit of the metal under the paint.

The directions on the paint bottles recommended using a soft cloth to add additional layers of paint, but I found that a soft paintbrush worked just as well. Brushes with hard, nylon bristles didn't work as well with these paints, so try to stick to softer paintbrushes when using the Vintaj Patina inks on your metal beads.

Blending the colors was fun, too! After I finished the set of rope-textured beads, I moved on to some beautiful brass beads with sun medallions on them. For these, I went to my green paints and enthusiastically started coating them with paint. I didn't need much to cover the beads with color — just a tiny dab of paint on the tip of my brush was enough. Mixing the greens was easier for me, probably only because I'm more comfortable with those colors than the pinks, purples and blues of the Antique Window paint kit.

Because I didn't want to smudge the paint while it dried and while I was working, I wore gloves to protect my hands and the beads. To avoid smudging the paint even more, I threaded each brass bead on the end of an unused paintbrush when I wanted to cover the entire bead with color.

The Vintaj Patina inks washed out of the paintbrushes very easily while they were still wet. I ran each brush under the water and used a paper towel to remove any remaining paint before using it again.

Finally, feeling more confident with my ability to blend paint colors, I selected a beautifully patterned African brass bead that had a series of spirals around it's circumference and made another attempt with the Antique Window paint kit. Success! The layering of blue, lavender and pink turned this bead into something that I could actually use!

The Vintaj Patinas left my metal beads with a wonderful satin finish that wasn't bright and glossy, but didn't fade into the background, either. I splurged and spent five dollars on the Vintaj reliefing block, a lightweight block with what feel like srcubby pads on four sides that can be used to remove a bit of the paint and expose some of the metal underneath. Giving the beads a light scrubbing with this block revealed just a tiny bit of metal on the beads and made them look slightly antiqued.

At the end of my little Vintaj Patina adventure, I found myself thinking about my bead stash and wondering what other metal components I had in there that I could paint! These wonderful Vintaj Patina inks can be used on any metal bead or jewelry-making component and are permanent. They can be used on the Vintaj line of brass stampings and filigrees or any other type of metal bead or jewelry-making component. Think about the possibilities with these inks: they can be applied to clasps, spacer beads or pendants to add some color and personalize your jewelry-making and beading projects.

Tips for using Vintaj Patina inks:

Use softer paintbrushes for more even application of paints and easier blending.

Wear gloves to avoid getting paints on hands and fingers.

Always work in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhaling any fumes from paints and inks.

When applying colors, remember to use darker colors as your base layer and add lighter colors on top.

Scrub the beads lightly with the Vintaj reliefing block to expose some of the metal under the paint and give your beads and components an "antique" look.